Apparatus for sorting solid products by density



Sept. 23, 1958 F. J. B. BERRY 2,853,192

APPARATUS FOR SORTING SOLID PRODUCTS BY DENSITY Filed June 15, 1954 F n/vco/s 5. Bnm

United States Patent APPARATUS FOR SORTING SOLID PRODUCTS BY DENSITY Frangois Jacques Barthelemy Berry, Lille, France Application June 15, 1954, Serial No. 436,921

Claims priority, application France June 20, 1953 4 Claims. (Cl. 209-469) The present invention relates to an apparatus for sorting solid products by density, of the kind in which the products to be sorted are unloaded into a container, the base of which is perforated and through which a flow of gas passes from the bottom to the top, whilst means of progression are provided to lead the sorted products towards one or a number of separate extremities of the apparatus. By perforated base, it is convenient to mean in the present description any base arranged in such a way as to permit a suitable passage for the gases and, at the same time, to prevent the product from passing through. A perforated base of this kind may consist, for example, of a plate provided with holes, of a grid, of a sieve, of a highly porous ceramic wall, or of any other convenient arrangement.

An object of the invention is to improve the operation of apparatus of this type and to enable more precise and more effective sorting to be made.

In accordance with one of the features of the invention, in an apparatus of the kind referred to, the gaseous flow has a pulsatory or intermittent character.

The means of progression may consist of an alternating movement applied to the whole or part of the com tainer and synchronise with the pulsation of the flow of gas and/ or of an inclined perforated base.

The objects, features and advantages of the invention will furthermore become apparent from the description which follows below with reference to the form of construction chosen by way of example and with reference to the attached drawings in which the sole figure is a diagrammatic view in vertical longitudinal cross-section of a form of construction of the apparatus in accordance with the invention.

In the figure, there is seen at a container or caisson having two opposite discharging-sills 12 and 13. The container 10 is provided with a perforated horizontal base 14. The base 14 is perforated under the whole container. The walls of the container are provided with internal horizontal fins 26 intended to suppress the undesirable effects known as wall-eifects. Container 10 is supported by flexible plates 33. Underneath the base 14, the container is extended by an approximately airtight chamber defined by the lateral walls of the container and by a horizontal lower plate 42. Ports such as 4-3 are arranged in the plate 42 whilst vertical partitions 44 extend between the plate 42 and the base 14 in order to divide up the space situated beneath the base into separate compartments 45, each of which is provided with at least one port-hole 43. Each port-hole 43 is associated with a shutter-member 46 forming a slide valve and slidably mounted against the upper part of the plate 42 between an open position in which the member 46 frees the port 43 and a closed position in which the member 46 closes the port 43.

The various members 46 are mounted on an actuating rod 47 which passes through the partitions 44 and the wall of the container and is connected by a crank-arm 48 to the handle 49 of a driving shaft 50. The latter 2,853,192 Patented Sept. 23, 1958 is rotatably mounted on the container 10 and is provided with an out-of-balance weight 51 so as to uncover and shut 01f alternately by means of the members 46, the ports 43, and to impress horizontal oscillations on the container by means of the out-of-balance weight 51.

The member 46 arranged on the left is locked in position on the rod 47 in such a manner as to be in phaseopposition with respect to the other members 46, so that the pulsations applied to the left-hand part of the container are out-of-phase with respect to the pulsations applied to the right-hand part, the pulsations as a whole being in synchronism with the horizontal oscillations of the container. Under the plate 42 is fixed a hood 52 which is connected through a flexible joint 53 to the delivery conduit 54 of a fan 55. The plate 42 also comprises port-holes 56 in addition to the port-holes 43. Each port-hole 56 is arranged in the vicinity of a porthole 43 in a same compartment 45 and is associated with a shutter member 57 forming a slide-valve and slidably mounted on the upper surface of the plate 42. The various members 57 are rigidly coupled to the alternating shaft 47 which carries the members 46, and the members 57 and 46 are locked in position on the rod 47 in such a way that the port-holes 56 are closed or freed by the members 57 when the port-holes 43 are respectively freed or closed by the members 46.

The port-holes 56 communicate with conduits 58 extending under the plate 42 and being connected to a collector 52 mounted inside the hood 52. The collector 59 is connected by a flexible joint 60 to a conduit 61, which is under partial pressure, for example, and which communicates with the upstream pipe 62 on the intake side of the fan 55, the downstream delivery pipe of which supplies the hood 52 as in the previous case. The pipe 62 is provided with a regulating damper 63.

In operation, the rotating shaft 50 impresses horizontal oscillations on the container 10 by means of the out-ofbalance weight 51, as previously. In synchronism with these oscillations, the port-holes 43 are alternately opened and closed whilst the port-holes 56 are closed when the port-holes 43 are open and vice-versa.

The fan 55 causes an increase in pressure within the gaseous space inside the hood 52 and a depression, adjustable at 63, in the collector 59. In consequence, when the port-holes 43 are open and the port-holes 56 are closed, a rising flow of gas under pressure passes through the layer of products in the container 10, and this assists the decantation of the products without causing these products to progress horizontally since the latter are lifted away by the flow of gas.

In the following half-period of the oscillations, the port-holes 43 are closed and the port-holes 56 are open. The compartments .5 are then put under depression, which strongly forces the products against the perforated base 14 and assists their progression under the effect of the corresponding oscillation. The unsorted products unloaded at F are sorted into light products collected at 12 and into heavy products collected at 13.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for sorting and classifying solid products by density, comprising a container for the products to be sorted, a perforated base for said container, a plurality of discharge-chutes associated with said container for selectively discharging the sorted products, means for impressing a lateral oscillating motion on said container and said products, an extension formed beneath said container and adapted to form an air-chamber, at least one gastight partition mounted between the baseplate of said chamber and said perforated container-base, thus forming a plurality of gas-tight compartments, a plurality of blowing-passages formed in said baseplate, one to each said compartment, a slide-valve associated with each said blowing-passage, a plurality of suction-passages formed in said baseplate, one to each said compartment, a slidevalve associated with each "said suction-passage, means for conjointly actuating all said slide-valves to open and close at a given frequency, in such manner that said blow ing-passages are opened when said suction-passages are closed and conversely, a source of air under pressure, an air-hood mounted beneath said baseplate, conduit means connecting said air-pressure source to said hood, a collector-conduit passing inside said hood, conduit means connecting said suction-passages to said collector, a source of air under partial-pressure, and conduit means connecting said collector to said source of depression, whereby the opening of said blowing passages causes a pulse of compressed air to pass through said products, the subsequent opening of said suction-passages causing a suction pulse which reverses the air flow through said products, the cycle being repeated at a desired frequency throughout the sorting period.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the said source of air under pressure is the delivery conduit of 2,863,192 f 4 r h an air-blower, the said source of air under partial-pressure being the intake conduit of the said blower.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said means for applying lateral oscillations to said products, includes a rotating out-of-balance weight coupled to said container.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the said conjoint actuating means is a rod coupled to said slidevalves and given a reciprocating movement by a powerdriven shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 235,851 Bourne Dec. 28, 1880 1,811,026 Raw June 23, 1931 1,848,151 Bennett Mar. 8, 1932 2,148,068 Fuller Feb. 21, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 374,423 Great Britain June 6, 1932 798,731 France Mar. 11, 1936 

